A SCOTS student has thanked generous Scots for transforming the lives of Kenyan orphans targeted by machete-wielding thieves.

Donations of almost £15,000 came flooding in after the Record told how St Jerome’s children’s home had been ransacked by raiders.

And Gemma Steele, who was held at knifepoint during the raid, said the kids are now better off than before the break-in.

She added: “When I remember what happened to us, there were times when you felt like throwing in the towel.

“But we have come out the other side and are actually in a far better position than we were before.

“It’s turned into the best thing that has happened to us.

“Things that we didn’t think we could get done for years, like inside toilets and a kitchen, have been ticked off.

“We have taken in another four children and are now up to a staff of six.”

Gemma, 22, built St Jerome’s up from scratch during a volunteer trip to Kenya four years ago.

But her hopes of giving the children a brighter future were left shattered when the gang struck in a terrifying 3am raid six months ago.

They dragged her from her bed at knifepoint and fled with £1500 she had saved for basic supplies.

Celtic FC replaced all of the money stolen. And donations by Record readers and the people of Gemma’s home town of Benbecula on South Uist helped boost their funds.

The kids were proud to pose for pictures to show how far they have come since the raid.

Smiling and dancing in the African heat, many of the children painted their bodies in Celtic colours to thank their “number one” club for helping to rebuild their lives. They have even recorded a song in tribute to the Hoops.

Thanks to the donations, St Jerome’s in Nakuru now have two security guards.

And one seriously-ill orphan has received medical treatment which has changed his life.

Gemma, who has now returned home to Scotland to raise more funds for the orphanage, said: “We now have huge development plans. We have two Maasai warriors as security guards and we feel a lot safer.”

Gemma, who had to defer her occupational therapy studies at Glasgow Caledonian University for a year to make St Jerome’s safe again, said the donations paid for the oldest of the orphans, John, 17, to be admitted to a private hospital for treatment for terrifying seizures.

She said: “At one point, I thought I would have to bring him to the UK for treatment. He was backwards and forwards to the hospitals in Kenya and we were getting nowhere. The seizures were every day.

“But because of the donations, I got him a week-long stay in a private hospital in Kenya, where he was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy.

“He is now on the right medication and is a lot better.

“Without what happened or the donations, we would never ever have been able to afford his stay in that hospital.”

Gemma plans to return to Kenya in January to make more improvements.

She said: “I’m so pleased with the outcome of all this. Our nightmare has turned into a dream come true for the children.”